Tōhoku

Tōhoku, chihō (region), constituting the northern portion of Honshu, Japan. It is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and to the east by the Pacific Ocean and includes the ken (prefectures) of Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Its name is derived from the Japanese terms tō (“east”) and hoku (“north”). The region is also known as Ōu, in reference to its main mountain range. Tohoku occupies nearly one-fifth of Japan’s total area but contains less than one-tenth of the country’s total population.

Three mountain ranges run roughly parallel across Tohoku from north to south, separated by rows of lowlands. The ranges and lowlands are, from east to west, the Kitakami Mountains and Abukuma Mountains, the Kitakami River and Abukuma River lowlands, the Ōu Mountains, a row of basins constituting the Median Groove, and the Dewa Mountains and the mountains associated with Mounts Asahi and Iide. Maritime lowlands occur along the coast of the Sea of Japan.

The backbone range of the Ōu Mountains forms the major climatic boundary of the region. It separates the western area of warmer summers and snowy winters from the eastern area of cooler summers and drier winters. The northeastern coastal belt is frequented by sea fog and cool easterly winds during the growing season. The highly indented coast of the Kitakami Range is subject to destructive tsunamis (ocean waves caused by earthquakes), including the devastating series of earthquake-generated tsunamis in March 2011 that laid waste to much of the region’s eastern coastline.

Fukushima prefecture: paddy fields

Tōhoku depends chiefly on agriculture and is often referred to as the rice granary of Japan. Fruit is also grown, and cattle are raised. During the 1950s dams were constructed in the mountains of Tōhoku to form a hydropower-generation area. Primary industries include forestry, mining, and fishing. The region is known for such traditional manufactures as lacquerware, iron and copper utensils, toys, and textiles. During the late 1970s industrial agglomerations began forming in cities such as Hachinohe, Akita, Sendai, and Kōriyama. Communications were improved by the Seikan Tunnel—a submarine tunnel between Aomori and Hokkaido completed in 1988—and the northward extension of the Shinkansen (bullet train), which began service to Aomori city in 2010. Tourism has grown rapidly, based on several national parks and other scenic areas and numerous hot springs. Urban growth has been comparatively slow, however. Area 25,825 square miles (66,886 square km). Pop. (2010) 9,335,636.